Earlier today, i managed to make a bit of cash by selling off some old computer parts. For quite some time, i've wanted a large resolution monitor. Not for gaming. No. I wanted it for design work. I wasn't interested in a lot of fancy features, but i needed simply something that had a large resolution greater than 1080p. When i'm developing software, much of the time, i have to resize the side areas that contain project files, components and such to be able to design a large enough interface and most importantly, to be able to see the longer lines of code without scrolling.

The problem?
The problem is that high resolution monitors are expensive. For example, there's UK, which has a 20% tax charge on ANY product. Since it's also an island, much of what is sold is imported, especially when talking about electronics. Tax is added to this, and when you add in business margins and such, you end up with an expensive price. You guarantee warranty and often guarantee quality this way, and it keeps the economy healthy (ok, healthy-ish).

For a large resolution monitor, you are lucky if you find one at £400 GBP. These are the absolute budget models. They're quality, but they're at the ultimate low end.

The solution?
So, what happens if you're willing to forego that peace of mind and easily handled warranty? South Korea is what happens. You see, when monitors are made, they're made in mass assembly lines. You'll have one, or multiple, lines for each type of monitor. Each line is basically being pinned on what type of panel the screens actually use, whether it's TN, or IPS, and what type and grade of each, and then by specific features and components they require.

Once assembled, the monitor is then fixed into a branded bezel, with it's stand added, and the it's all packed up in a branded box and shipped out. This is the way the system works, and it works well.

The problem with this, is that exporting and the costs associated with a branded product mean we typically pay well over the odds when it's imported and sold in our territory (US, UK or otherwise outside of Asia). Of course, this is a subjective and opinionated view, but i feel it bodes well for everyone with the prices we've become so ready to accept.

The solution, are OEM monitors. These are branded, but they are NOT big names in our territories. They'll have very Asian-esque or neutral brand or model names. In a lot of cases, they lack the extra features such as color controls, an OSD, or even a Scalar. For the non-techies among us, a scalar is what scales non-native resolutions up to fill the monitor. It basically takes, for example, a 720p image, and allows it to be scaled up to a 1080p screen without black bars around the edge.

"But Scott!" i hear you cry, "If it's got no scalar, what am i to do for fullscreen applications running at lower resolutions?!". Never fear, a vast majority of modern GPU's are built to handle scaling. The issues arise when you want to use it with consoles or such that perhaps don't have such support.

So, as i was saying, they're branded, but they're foreign names we may not have heard. There's several different prominent ones, such as Achieva Shimian, Yamakasi, Crossover, Wecube, and so on. You're probably hiding your wallet away already for the mention of an "unbranded" monitor may cause it to desert you. You may even be locking your children away for the sheer horror that is mentioning "unbranded" monitors.

However, you would be wrong to do so. These monitors typically use IPS panels. IPS is generally regarded as being "better" in many regards and is much preferred. Since they lack a big name, and many of the "useless extras", you'd still expect price to be pretty high. Again, you'd be wrong. It is absolutely not a hassle to find a 2560x1440 27" IPS-based monitor for under £230 GBP shipped, and look a little harder and some go for under £200 GBP shipped (or ~$350 USD). These are using A- quality panels, which pass for what are used in the Apple and numerous other branded displays!

As these monitors lack lots of extras, they typically have very good response times. As an added bonus, there's even reports of some people overclocking theirs to 97hz refresh rate from 60hz! They're essentially barebones monitors, but using quality panels. They do use a "power brick" transformer, but these take a standard PSU cable as their input and this means they're ready to go the moment you get them home (assuming of course, you've got a spare PSU cable/kettle lead for your socket). They include a Dual Link DVI cable (you need a Dual link DVI cable for these monitors, but since one is included, this is a null point).

You're probably still wary. I don't blame you. It sounds too good to be true, almost a scam. There's a 240 page thread over on Overclock.net and a 200 page thread over on HardForum. There's manydifferentwebsites that provide a good feeling that it is indeed genuine. There are some caveats such as them reportedly not being compatible with laptops, or not working with certain "low end GPU's". You'll want to investigate your particular setup more beforehand.

There's many different sellers, but they're all selling the same sort of monitors. General consensus seems to be it's not worth paying extra for a "pixel perfect" one, and that you'd choose a seller based on your impression from reviews that others have given of said seller as well as extras such as their service, shipping cost, etc.

So, what about me?
Personally, i've ordered one for £195 shipped (import duty to the UK would make it approx. £240-250 total in the end assuming they do decide to tax it, US import i believe is a more modest 5%). It's obviously a budget model, but for the price and the overall good impression other people have given (despite the odd failures being reported), i think it was worth the risk. They're sold through numerous auction sites, including the ever popular eBay. As i only intend to really use it for design as opposed to gaming (though i may try that too), it's not so much that i care for extra features. In all honesty, i HATE monitor OSD's. They're fiddly and i never use mine.

I'm very much wanting to make the community aware of this as well as provide a place for us to discuss it. They've been around and selling these for quite some time now so it's possible many know about them already, but for those that don't, this could truly prove to be a bargain. I'll definitely be providing an overall impression and pictures once mine arrives. I'm like a kid at christmas while waiting, but with quite a few people saying they received theirs within a week, i'm optimistic it won't take long to arrive.

after a quick search there are multiple even. Unless this is some kind of new meta tread, you might want to change the title to experiences with korean IPS monitors.

Good starting post tho

This is indeed intended to be a more official discussion of it with some organisation and information for people considering it rather than the usual "any input on these" types of thread we've had in the past regarding them.

Yeah, ordered one last night and still waiting for confirmation and tracking number and whatnot. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I'll post when i get mine (if i get it lol) with verdict. But if you get a good one it's really, really good.

I've had one for a while - PCBank. Got it for 320$. Didn't go for the pixel perfect option, as there seems to still be a chance for there to be some defect with it. That said however, I still got a perfect monitor. The difference is night and day between a TN and S-IPS monitor on just about every level and yes, these work just fine for gaming, with no noticeable input lag or high response time. You really should have a proper GPU for the resolution however. My Sapphire 6950 (bought it when I had a 1680x1050 monitor) works just fine for the majority of games, but anything graphically intensive like BF3 or Witcher 2 requires some readjustment.

As an added bonus, there's even reports of some people overclocking theirs to 97hz refresh rate from 60hz!

Just to point this out, the monitors that could go up to that number was a model of Yamasaki Catleaps that are no longer part of their standard production. There's a site out there that got in touch with the company and was (still are?) doing limited sales of monitors that were capable of refresh rates higher than 60hz. Other monitors however, AFAIK, can't go very far beyond the standard refresh rate without bumping into problems.

You see, when monitors are made, they're made in mass assembly lines. You'll have one, or multiple, lines for each type of monitor. Each line is basically being pinned on what type of panel the screens actually use, whether it's TN, or IPS, and what type and grade of each, and then by specific features and components they require.

The cheap Korean monitors are cheap because they use panels which are lower grade than big brands like Dell or Apple will allow for their branded products, essentially b-grade stuff that failed the quality check one way or another. It's entirely possible that just five or ten panels out of hundred are bad which caused the refusal and other 95 are fine, but it's also possible that 95 out of 100 were bad.

When you buy Dell Ultrasharp or Apple Cinemadisplay there is zero dead pixel warranty and maybe three year on-site repair, if you buy zero dead pixel monitor from Korean eBay sellers the price will go up by 50-100% and returning defective monitor for warranty if there is any will cost a lot of time and money.

And after all that negativity... I've been considering getting one too, but not enough extra cash on hand at the moment to roll a dice with it because even if I get perfect monitor, it would pretty much require swapping my current GTX560ti for a new card or face a big drop in fps.

Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
Trolling should be.

I was thinking about this monitors for a while aswell. But seeing as i also need to hook my tv stuff into it, which only has an HDMI out. I probably need to get one with an HDMI input, which ups the price by about 100 euro. Which makes it not that much cheaper than a dell.

But something to add about delivery and customs. On a dutch forum ive read that UPS/Fedexx/etc pay upfront for the custom costs. However they charge differently, UPS was more expensive than Fedexx for some weird reason. I think Fedexx charged 50 euro, and UPS closer to 80. Im not sure if this counts for other countries, but id say its worth checking out

hen you buy Dell Ultrasharp or Apple Cinemadisplay there is zero dead pixel warranty and maybe three year on-site repair, if you buy zero dead pixel monitor from Korean eBay sellers the price will go up by 50-100% and returning defective monitor for warranty if there is any will cost a lot of time and money.

Apple's dead pixel policy is vague at best for current generation products. It seems like "dust in the screen" is treated and fixed but stuck/dead pixels might be something you have to live with. That was certainly true for old products. Sadly Apple doesn't give details about what is acceptable so I imagine some discretion is granted to store managers and customer service representatives. I've had a powerbook and macbook pro replaced for screen issues (white spots on one, >50 stuck pixels on the other) but if the problems were less severe it seems likely that they'd tell me to sod-off.

Dell's policy is a lot more clear: Up to 5 dead pixels in their top quality panels is considered normal and not grounds for replacement (though a single stuck pixel is).

In either case the "zero dead pixel warranty" looks like a myth. Do you have a reference from either company that states otherwise?

EDIT: It's also worth noting that Apple's warranty is not on-site repair (even the corporate tiers of support don't include that) and their standard gaurntee is tragic compared to the rest of the industry: 1 year on material defects (2 in the UK due to stronger consumer protection laws) and only 90 days phone support. You can exctend the warranty for an extra 2 of material coverage (and 1 full year of phone support) for $100. Given that we're talking about $1000 thunderbolt displays vs ~$300 screens here, that $100 extra warranty is a pretty big chunk of cash.

Defective pixels are pixels on a liquid crystal display (LCD) that are not performing as expected. Of those, a dead pixel never shows light, and a stuck pixel always shows light (typically red, blue or green)

Well, my take on these monitors: sure, they are a bargain, but I won't be buying any. Reject panels with cheap electronic components and no warranty is simply too much risk/hassle for me. For a tinkerer who likes to build computers for a bargain these displays are excellent of course.

I know 8 people who have bought one of these displays and we are all yet to have an issue. i think myself and one other have the worst of the bunch with one dead pixel. mine is 1cm from the top left and my other mates is 3cms from the bottom right... but you can't notice it while gaming or really anything else. if you run a screen bleed/pixel tester you will see it, but who does that 24/7 :P

I know 8 people who have bought one of these displays and we are all yet to have an issue. i think myself and one other have the worst of the bunch with one dead pixel. mine is 1cm from the top left and my other mates is 3cms from the bottom right... but you can't notice it while gaming or really anything else. if you run a screen bleed/pixel tester you will see it, but who does that 24/7 :P

Figured i'd chime in say I have one, and a friend of mine has one (same seller, same monitor) and have had zero issues with it. No Dead pixels. Paid like ~250$ for it inc shipping to the US. Love the monitor, possibly one of the best purchases I have ever made. Haven't bothered trying to overclock the refresh rate yet though.

Have been using mine for like ~4 ish months now. Model is a Shimian something or another (Far too lazy to look it up again).

In either case the "zero dead pixel warranty" looks like a myth. Do you have a reference from either company that states otherwise?

When I last was monitor shopping about 3-4 years ago zero dead pixels was pretty much the default even in midrange and certain on high end. On the other hand it's not the only thing where monitors has gotten worse over the years (1920x1200 is getting hard to find now, everybody sells the inferior 1920x1080).

Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
Trolling should be.

Those monitors in eBay go for about $320 USD shipped worldwide last I looked (~4 months ago). On top of that comes local import taxes and VAT. Here in Finland the extra taxes are about 25% so the final price would be $400 USD or 320€.

Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
Trolling should be.

I have one non OC one and one that OC's to 120hz, They are nice, they were cheap and I haven't had any issues with either of them. I have had the normal Catleap one since March, and my OC'd one for a month.